The white man as weapon of mass destruction—part 4

When does perception become reality?

For many decades, African-Americans have been cast and stereotyped as the criminal element of our society. They have been demonized, denigrated and criminalized. As a result, white society has felt justified in keeping their communities, including their schools, pure. But, who can blame them? After all, who would want to live amongst gangsters, criminals, and an element which threatens the well-being of a community?

That’s the perception. But what is the reality?

The black drug dealer, the black pimp, the black mugger do exist but, does the African-American community present any greater threat than do other communities?

Let us take a close and more realistic look at our white community here, in these United States, during the past 20 years:

On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The bombing killed 168 people and injured 680 others.

Although McVeigh and Nichols took the rap, many experts believe, and have made public, their view that McVeigh’s truck filled with explosives alone could not have done such extensive damage to the Federal Building. They insist that only explosives inside the building could have accomplished that. Which means that others, besides McVeigh and Nichols, were involved.

Then we have the infamous Columbine High School massacre, a school shooting that occurred on April 20, 1999. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, went on a shooting spree and murdered twelve students and one teacher. Twenty-one additional people were injured. Both boys eventually committed suicide.

On March 21, 2005, 16-year-old Jeff Weise killed his grandfather and another adult, as well as five students, a teacher and a security officer in Red Lake, Minnesota. He then killed himself.

On March 25, 2006, Kyle Aaron Huff, 28 years old, opened fire at a party, killing six and wounding two. He then killed himself. This occurred in Seattle, Washington.

Tyler Peterson, 20 years of age and a deputy in the Forest County Sherif’s Department shot and killed six people on October 7, 2007, at a party in Crandon, Wisconsin. He then committed suicide.

Nicholas Troy Sheley, 29 years old, was arrested for the murder of six people on July 1, 2008.

In Carthage, North Carolina, 45-year-old Robert Stewart killed a nurse and seven elderly patients at a nursing home. This occurred on March 29, 2009.

On March 10, 2009, Michael Kenneth McLendon, 28, shot and killed ten people in a shooting spree in three communities in two southern Alabama counties: Kinston in Coffee County, and Samson and Geneva in Geneva. Five of the victims were family members and two were children. After engaging in an exchange of fire with police, he committed suicide.

Jared Lee Loughner, born September 10, 1988, pleaded guilty to 19 charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with the shooting near Tucson, Arizona, on January 8, 2011 in which he shot and severely injured U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

On December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, 27 people were killed, including 20 children, by Adam Lanza who then committed suicide.

July 20, 2012, 12 people were killed and 58 were wounded in a shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater. James E. Holmes, 24, was taken into custody outside of the movie theater.

The aforementioned list is far from complete and does not include serial killings which the white man also dominates. There is an extensive list of mass killings in the United States. What is most noticeable to me is that all of the murderers above mentioned are white.

The message here is not that all mass murders are committed by white people, but that there is an overwhelming preponderance of white men involved in these crimes.

How does one begin to explain this phenomenon? Is there something genetic that makes white men more susceptible to this violent behavior? If it’s not genetic, then what is it in the white man’s experience that leads to such violence?

Despite the above data, we have not stereotyped white men in a way that renders them as dangerous outcasts in our society, as we have done to the black man. We are able to distinguish between the white murderer and the rest of us who are labeled white. Whereas, we judge the black man by the black criminal element. Of course, Hollywood and our television programss reinforce this perception by stereotyping the portrayal of black Americans as criminals.

This dynamic helps explain the preemptive shooting of black men by police. The confrontation between the police and a white criminal suspect, more often than not, results in the apprehension and arrest of that suspect. What we have seen over and over is the immediate drawing and firing, by police, of their weapons without allowing for an analysis and comprehension of the situation which confronts them when facing a black male suspect. This despite the historical evidence that white suspects are as dangerous and threatening, if not more so, than black suspects.

If we are in the post-racist era, why is this happening?

Am I condemning the white man? Certainly! This violence is not inherent in our genetic make-up, but we have wedded ourselves to the concept of capitalism which emphasizes and rewards personal gain, greed, and competitiveness at the expense of our communities’ well-being.

The combination of capitalism and the sense of privilege have allowed the white man to feel justified in exploiting the world’s resources, human and natural. As I pointed out previously, the wealthy white men financed exploration, not out of scientific curiosity, but for personal financial gain . . . to find markets and resources. And, the credo in these explorations was to use any means necessary to accomplish this goal.

Capitalism is driving the human race into extinction. We not only are killing one another for financial gain but we’re destroying the very environment that allows us to exist on this planet. All in the name of profit.

As my dentist once said, “How did our oil wind up under their sand?” I’m certain that you’ll be able to figure out that reference.

We white folks have claimed a superiority and privilege not available to “others.” Yet, history shows that we are more than capable of serious crimes against humanity and are no more nor less deserving of privilege and respect.

If we do not rethink our priorities, our children or our grandchildren will not have a planet on which to live.

Do not expect your government to take the lead because they do not represent you!

Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.